Tuesday

I've been wanting to watch The Wind that Shakes the Barley since it first came out, but have struggled to do so. As always, having now seen it, I regret this delay. It's a brilliant film, undoubtedly. The look alone sells it - the beautiful landscape, beautifully photographed, but also the men themselves, their dress, the language and the songs. Incredible stuff. When you get to analysing some of the details, however, it falls apart a little. The plot, for instance, is quite ordinary: an intelligent sensitive man tries to avoid fighting but eventually joins. He falls in love with a woman. Over time, his best friend becomes his enemy, and I won't ruin the ending for you. So, we've had this sort of thing many times before. What's different is that it's told without exaggeration or over-explanation. Even more, the story takes place in the context of exceptional circumstances. The brutality of both sides is astonishing, and becomes sickening when the Irish start fighting themselves. Although Cillian Murphy is an exceptional actor, I couldn't quite sympathise with his character. He seemed cold at points, and doesn't share everything with us, or explain his motives. I'm not sure who Ken Loach wants us to agree with. As you know, I don't particularly like 'political' films. I'm aware of Loach's sympathies, but I don't know. The English are fairly obviously evil; the Irish have sophisticated discussions on the nature of their responsibility; and the main character shows signs of a modern consciousness which is anachronistic. The film hints, however, towards an objectivity to the events which I think is good. I watched it wondering if my father - whose family comes from the area in which the events take place - would like this. I'm not sure, but I don't think he would. It balances unhappily along the line of popular/critical movie, and never settles on either.